Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 21 October 2014 - 40th Anniversary

Reported by Renate Gibbs

Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Jim Force, issued the call to order to join in a unique opportunity to sing “O Canada” with Pablo Diemecke’s violin solo. 

Eugen Bannerman’s invocation brought us together with a First Nations’ grace.  This was followed with warm greetings; first with Kevin Walker (Oak Bay Beach Hotel) and his wife Shauna as they have welcomed our Rotary Club since inception, given the congruence of our shared values where integrity matters along with ‘giving back to the community’.  Nils Jensen, Mayor of Oak Bay, recognized the impact of Oak Bay Beach Hotel and expressed greetings from Oak Bay Council to Oak Bay Rotary for 40 years of community service through diligent, hard work.

Mayor Nils Jensen, Neil Rawnsley and Kevin Walker 

 Joan Peggs brought our many guests to their feet for a warm welcome.  Guests included: 

• Laurie Reid; Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast
• Bruce Willis; Rotary Club of Laguna Beach, California
• Ryley Strother, Amanda Hind, & Scott Higby; Rotaract Club of Victoria
• Laura Lavin; guest of Perry Bamji
• Beth Murray; guest of Lynne Murray
• Jill Croft; guest of Tom Croft
• Kevin & Shauna Walker
• Nils Jensen; honorary member
• Bob Beauvais, past member

Jim Force expressed appreciation for recent international accomplishments with a Global Grant for Health Care enhancement in East Timor for $48,000 USD, as well as work in Rwanda with John Jordan.  Locally Oak Bay Recreation will have a climbing wall.
   

Special thanks to Perry Bamji - Paul Harris Awards evening 
Jim Force thanked Perry Bamji for spearheading our Club's very first Paul Harris Awards evening on October 2 when we presented the Paul Harris Awards to three citizens of Greater Victoria. He said that without Perry's leadership and perseverance, this event will not have taken place. Perry was presented with this year’s Rotary Theme pin for his work. 

Perry Bamji

Perry thanked all those who helped to make this event a great success. In particular he thanked:
The Oak Bay Beach Hotel for their sponsorship of tickets for each of the three awardees and their guest, the printing of tickets and the souvenir programs and the facilities of the theatre. David Maxwell for sponsorship of dinner wines. Some members who could not make it to the dinner kindly donated their tickets to the Rotaract and Interact members.The Oak Bay News who gave a full page spread and photographs of the Awards Evening in two separate issues of the newspaper.

Brian Lamb informed the club of the results of joining with the Victoria Rotary Club in the Car Raffle.  We will direct our $25,000 to the Victoria Foundation where it will be matched and this then can support a program to develop a Physical Literacy Program through the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence (PISE) for a grand total of $50,000!  http://piseworld.com/

Brian Lamb, introduced Charter member, Dr John Emerson, Dentistry and two former members; Andy Anderson (a past president) and Bob Beauvais

Bob Beauvais, Will Carter, David Phillip, Andy Anderson, George Pritchard & Neil Rawnsley

Brief Recollections:

Brian Lamb, our longest remaining active member, shared his early memories of the first project to set up picnic tables on Cattle Point with Neil Rawnsley’s father, Ray, followed by a fundraiser that involved Australian wines with Barney Simmons (former owner of the Quadra Theatre) where Brian was outfitted in a hot, stuffy outfit to be a Koala Bear.  Other memories included the Water Park Project with Rod Filer whose imagination for a Peter Pan themed park became a reality.  Len Lane, Principal of Frank Hobbs School was remembered as a keen attendance keeper who helped members appreciate their record with a visual reminder each week. 

John Emerson shared his early designs to operate an airline company involved an amphibious aircraft that he landed at Cattle Point.  It was only when the police arrived and questioned his right to park this aircraft that this highlighted a loophole in Oak Bay’s Bylaws.

Andy Anderson shared one fond memory that involved DP who would be the one found driving down Oak Bay Avenue soon after the Oak Bay Police had just cleared the streets in preparation for the Oak Bay Tea Party.

Joan Peggs commented on an early experience where she received a ‘Ted Harrison inspired’ certificate for the ‘Beach to Beach Walk’ – started by Paul Johnson.

Jack Petrie remembered arriving to see a President holding her baby, and meeting a ‘Fast Ball Pitcher’ – two striking women in our club today!

Tom Lidkea fondly recalled Del Pittuck in leading Christmas Carols.

Rod Simms concluded the look back with a story involving Kevin Walker’s father making cotton candy as well as Joan Peggs father involved in Oak Bay Rotary.

Special Presentation:

Jim Force commended David Sills; 31 years, George Pritchard; 36 years, and Brian Lamb; an impressive 39 years.  They share the distinction of all being ‘Past Presidents’ and ‘Past Treasurers’.  Eugen Bannerman presented each with a distinctive plaque.

Pictorial History of our Club:

With photos generously shared by David Sills and compiled by Perry Bamji, set to music ‘What a wonderful world’ we followed many memories including 40 years of Past Presidents, past projects, financial contributions and service opportunities that spanned these years.  “Service above self is our motto – having fun is our credo.”

Jim Force offered concluding remarks to identify the DNA of our club simply involves liking each other and offering a little oasis along with the pride to consider 40 years of great work in the community. 

Our meeting concluded with Pablo Diemecke’s violin solo “The Queen”.

Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 14 October, 2014

Reported by Ron Cooley
The meeting was opened by Master of Ceremonies: Sandy Currie.
Lori McLeod gave grace.

Guests:
Barry Mutter introduced our Guests:
Naida Hyde guest of Mary Canty
Christopher Bowers   Speaker
C. Anne McIntyre - Disaster Aid Canada

Fond Farewell:
Tricia Timmermans was presented with a plaque of appreciation for all of her hard work on behalf of our club. Tricia has been a huge part of our success as a club and a talented photographer. All the best Tricia, you will be missed!

Announcements:
Pablo Diemecke has a concert coming up on Saturday Oct 18, 2014, at 2:30 - St Mary’s Church, 1701 Elgin Rd., Oak Bay. $5 from each ticket will be donated to Oak Bay Rotary.
Eugen Bannerman reminded us that next Tuesday, October 21, 2014, will be our 40^th anniversary celebration lunch starting 15 minutes early. Please send any historical photos to Eugen. Perry Bamji thanked everyone who attended the Paul Harris Awards night; donated a ticket to a Rotoract student or; helped to make it a success. He also  thanked David Maxwell for donating organic wine for the event. Please help to make next year’s event a success by sending Perry your feedback

50/50:
Tom Croft was Celebrations Master.
He requested $2 from each person who had turkey for Thanksgiving to go to the “Save the Turkey Foundation”. He fined everyone who had a vegan meal, $2
Pablo celebrated his 12^th anniversary with the Rotary Club of Oak Bay.
Peter Sou and Mary Canty had birthdays. Mary told us she was very much her age. (I thought you were not suppose to ask). Mary donated a cheque, the amount of which equated with her age, to the women in Guatemala and the stoves project.
Tricia had happy and sad $’s.  She was excited to be moving to another city, but sad to be leaving Oak Bay Rotary after 12 great years and making hundreds of friends. She thanked Tom Croft for introducing her to Rotary when they met in the Yukon.
Ron Cooley had happy $’s for his and Jane’s trip to Grand, Antelope and Zion Canyons. Plus, a brave $ for Jane (who is challenged by cliffs) for her ride on the “Stratosphere” in Las Vegas. 

Speaker:
Dallas introduced our speaker Christopher Bowers. Access his website here.  

Christopher discussed the distinction between being a traveller (engages) vs. a tourist (observes).  Christopher spoke about the process he uses to enhance conversation.

The better the question, the better the story. Ask questions you are curious about.

Go for specifics e.g.: What stood out? What was the highlight? Ask follow up questions to go deeper.  Avoid asking close ended questions (that can be answered with a  yes or no).

Christopher handed out a work sheet with a short bio for Dallas and Steve Sharlow.  

By way of illustration, Dallas was asked about growing up with Dal Richards. Her mom, Lorraine, was a singer with Dal from the 40’s to 1965. Lena Horne, Bing Crosby and Mel Torme were among  many who visited their home.  
We learned Dallas attended the Sorbonne, worked at UNESCO and,  her objective is to help people and help them make a wise choices.

Lorna Curtis thanked Christopher for a very informative process and a way to engage with people as a traveller  rather than as a tourist.

Other announcements:
Anne McIntyre told us how Disaster Aid Canada runs a program called “Soap for Hope”. This program takes soap, shampoo and conditioner left in local hotels and reprocesses them for distribution overseas. Global Handwashing Day is Oct 15, 2014. It highlights the need for hygiene to combat preventable diseases.

John Jordan gave us a short announcement of his trip to visit the Rotary Club of Fresno, California, where he was able to thank the inventor of the stove made for the project in Rawanda. 6 years ago on his 1^st trip to Rawanda, John learned people there needed an efficient stove that reduced smoke in homes. He found out about a stove that had been developed by a Rotarian in the USA.  John and his team were trained to make them. 6 years and 10,000 stoves later, John managed to track down the inventor and give him personal thanks!

New Member:
Steve Sharlow is a new member to our club and many will remember his dad, Bill, who was a long time member of our club.   .
No meeting on Rememberance Day:
Steve Sharlow reminded us there will be no meeting on Remembrance Day.
Sandy closed the meeting with a bell ringing.

Steve Sharlow

Rotary Meeting of October 7, 2014

Reported by Jim Laing

Meeting was called to order at 12:15 pm by Master of Ceremonies, Sandy Currie.

Tom Lidkea provided the piano background for O'Canada

Janette Nation provided grace.

Visiting Rotarians:
Wynne Taylor introduced visiting Rotarians and guests including:
Jarrod Clayton - soon to be an OB Rotarian;Clark Lawrence; Bruce Willoughby; Al McCullough, Naida Hyde and Kathleen Arnasen.

Health of the Club reported by Mary Canty advising that Dr. David Philip had just got out of hospital. Ted Chambers has advised he is leaving the club. David and Batya Westler advise that their son's health has improved and that they are delighted with the birth of their new grandchild.

President Jim Force, Barry Mutter and Wendy Thompson took part in the induction of our latest member, Kathleen Arnasen. Her background is one of a long list of accomplishments including an initial  professional career as an RN, non-profit sector work, authorship of published books and public service awards.

Announcements:

• President Jim, along with Steve Sharlow, are asking for your help in putting together a slide program featuring veterans for this Remembrance Day. If you have material to share please contact these gents.
• Mary Canty advised of an upcoming scarf sale on November 9 to be held at the Fairfield Center in association with  the Japanese Cultural Association. Proceeds go to help the women of Guatemala.
• Janna reminded members of the popular Super Bowls of Hope event at the Laurel Point Inn on November 3,at 11. a.m. to 1.30 pm. to support Youth Services. Janna is hosting a paint-in at her business, “Fired Up”, at 1801  Fort Street, where for $10, you can paint a bowl and the bowl will be donated to this event, where it will be filled with soup. Please email Janna for details of her paint-in evening. You can buy tickets for $25 for your bowl and soup at this link. 
• Eugen reminded members of the 40th anniversary of the Oak Bay Rotary Club with a special lunch at 12 noon, October 21. Please advise Eugen if you cannot attend.
• Joan Peggs, on behalf of the PR Committee, advised of the Light up the World to Eradicate Polio Day, 6-9 pm on the north wall of the McPherson Building on October 24. There is a $40.00 charge and a meal will be available. Contact Joan for details.

50-50:

Tom Croft, Sergeant at Arms, fined anyone who attended the Paul Harris Dinner - then fined everyone who did not attend - a clever move only Tom could devise !

The draw was won by Tom which seemed a bit suspect to most startled onlookers but he declined to take any of the proceeds. It is now jackpotting to next week.

Guest Speaker:

MC Sandy and speaker, Sue Maitland

Member Corey Burger introduced our speaker Sue Maitland, a Life Transitions Coach. Theme of her talk was "What seniors should know before they move".

As seniors age and  move from their living space, Sue advised of the many things to be planned.  She spoke of making a list of what is important to each person before calling a realtor so that the move is to the right location. This could include a place near a relative, close to transportation, medical help, services etc.

Sue's role is that of a coach who asks questions rather than telling a senior what to do. She says you are the one who really knows what's best for you - you have the answers. She also deals with people who want to help their aging parents plan a move from their current home. Don't expect your children to plan and manage your move.

Options to consider for seniors:

Accept in the future things will change. Consider finances. What are the features of your ideal place to live? Down-size slowly. Be ready to move.

Sue's information will soon be available online no later than January.

For more details go to www.suemaitland.com

“Make the rest of your life, the best of your life”.

Sue was thanked by Rotarian Ron Beyer and presented with an Oak Bay Rotary Mug.

Tom Lidkea led the group on piano for God Save the Queen and the meeting ended at 1.36 pm.

Oak Bay Rotary hosts its first Paul Harris Awards Dinner - October 2, 2014

Reported by John Jordan and Perry Bamji, with photos by Tricia Timmermans

Paul Harris Award recipients: Maria Consalvo, Paul Destrooper, & Helen Hughes

For the Rotarians and non-Rotarian guests who attended the Paul Harris Awards Dinner, it was an inspiring experience. One could feel the power for good that thrives in remarkable independent efforts throughout our community and which came together last Thursday evening, October 2nd, in the David Foster Foundation Theatre at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, under the banner of Rotary. All three award recipients – even while being lauded for visionary service – spoke humbly of how honored they felt to be recognized by Rotary, a model of committed service worldwide.

Each recipient was cited for applying their unique skills to the belief that each person in the world is worthy of the investment of respect and resource to realize their potential.  Maria Consalvo who was nominated by Dr. John Snively and Tricia Timmermans and presented to the audience by Tricia Timmermans, provides 5-6 weeks every year to project management and dental hygiene to the Mayan people of Lake Attitlan, Guatemala. Paul Destrooper, Director of Ballet Victoria was nominated and presented by Lori McLeod. She described Paul as one who engages youth and remote communities in the healing and liberating power of dance. Helen Hughes was nominated and presented by George Pritchard. After many years of activism and serving on Victoria City Council, Helen continues to guide Victoria toward compassionate and nurturing outreach to the marginalized. The Oak Bay News featured the three recipients in this article.

Rotary District 5020 Governor, Michael Procter, presented the awardees with a Paul Harris Medal, a Paul Harris pin, and a citation. He was assisted by President Jim Force and Foundations Director Neil Rawnsley.  Perry Bamji was the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.

Among the 90 attendees present at the event were the Past District Governors, Ross White, David Stocks with their wives, and Judy Byron. Also present were the Mayor of Oak Bay, Nils Jensen, and owners of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, Kevin and Shawna Walker.

President Jim thanked the evening sponsors - the Oak Bay Beach Hotel for sponsoring dinner tickets for each awardee and a guest, for the printing of the tickets and the souvenir program, and for providing the service of their reservation system for booking of tickets. David Maxwell donated the dinner wines.

The evening’s focus on inspiring examples of service was animated by the sparkling wines, lovely music, and happy conversations between friends, new and old.  The beautiful venue and sense of belonging at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel proved a marvelous platform to highlight the ideals of Rotary: service and fellowship.  It seemed that all who were present would acknowledge that Oak Bay Rotary fulfills the Rotary ideal.  

Below are a few photos from the evening. Steve Sharlow will be posting more photos to Oak Bay Rotary's Facebook page. Click photo to enlarge. Right-click, Save Image As ... to save to your computer or for printing. Enjoy!